I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)

Director:

Robert Zemeckis

Writers:

Robert Zemeckis (writer)
Bob Gale (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 1979 (Colombia)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Romance

Tagline:

these youngsters are suffering from a highly contagious disease called beatlemania. The symptoms are...screaming hysteria hyperventilation fainting fits seizures and spasmodic convulsions It isn't fatal but it sure is fun.

Plot:

If they missed Beatles' first appearance in the U.S.A. they would hate themselves for the rest of their lives...

Plot Keywords:

The Beatles | Friend | New Jersey | Hotel | Beatlemania

Cast

Nancy Allen	...	Pam Mitchell
Bobby Di Cicco	...	Tony Smerko
Marc McClure	...	Larry Dubois
Susan Kendall Newman	...	Janis Goldman
Theresa Saldana	...	Grace Corrigan
Wendie Jo Sperber	...	Rosie Petrofsky
Eddie Deezen	...	Richard 'Ringo' Klaus
Christian Juttner	...	Peter Plimpton
Will Jordan	...	Ed Sullivan
Read Morgan	...	Peter's Father
Claude Earl Jones	...	Al
James Houghton	...	Eddie
James Hewitson	...	Neil
Dick Miller	...	Sergeant Brenner
Vito Carenzo	...	CBS Security Guard
Luke Andreas	...	Police Officer in Alley
Roberta Lee Carroll	...	Cafeteria Girl #1
Sherry Lynn	...	Cafeteria Girl #2
Irene Arranga	...	Flatbush Club Sheet Gierl
Carole H. Field	...	Club Leader
Nancy Osborne	...	Amazon
Newt Arnold	...	Barber
Wil Albert	...	Mr. Goldman
Troy Melton	...	Hotel Guard - Lobby
Nick Pellegrino	...	Lou the Guard
Martin Fiscoe	...	Elevator Operator
Marilyn Stader	...	Woman in Elevator (as Marilyn Moe)
Michael Ross Verona	...	TV Reporter
Marilyn Fox	...	Hysterical Interviewee
Kristine DeBell	...	Cindy the Hooker
Gene LeBell	...	Theater Core RTTST
Victor Brandt	...	Theatre Cop Foley
Roger Pancake	...	Police Sergeant
Kimberly Spengel	...	Sheet Girl
Bob Maroff	...	Bartender
Ivy Bethune	...	Foreign Woman
Craig Spengel	...	Beatle Protester #1
Frank Verroca	...	Beatle Protester #2
Derek Barton	...	Smerko's Driver
Ed Call	...	Reporter (as Edward Call)
John Malloy	...	Reporter
Larry Pines	...	Reporter
Dave Adams	...	Reporter
Poppy Lagos	...	Reporter
Robyn Petty	...	Autograph Girl #1
Paula Watson	...	Autograph Girl #2
Murray the 'K'	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Epstein	...	Himself (in New York) (archive footage) (uncredited)
George Harrison	...	Himself (in New York) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leslie Hoffman	...	(uncredited)
John Lennon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
William Malone	...	George Harrison (uncredited)
Paul McCartney	...	Himself (in New York) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jimmy Nickerson	...	(uncredited)
George Sawaya	...	(uncredited)
Rick Sawaya	...	(uncredited)
Ringo Starr	...	Himself (in New York) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marty Thomas	...	New York Door Man (uncredited)
Chuck Waters	...	(uncredited)
Jeffrey Weissman	...	Ringo Fan (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Zemeckis

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bob Gale		writer
Robert Zemeckis		writer

Produced by
Tamara Asseyev	....	producer
Bob Gale	....	associate producer
Alexandra Rose	....	producer
Steven Spielberg	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Donald M. Morgan

Film Editing by
Frank Morriss

Casting by
Stanzi Stokes

Art Direction by
Peter Jamison

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton

Production Management
Wallace Worsley Jr.	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Newt Arnold	....	first assistant director

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special visual effects

Stunts
Janet Brady	....	stunts
Leslie Hoffman	....	stunt double: Wendie Jo Sperber
Gene LeBell	....	stunts
Jimmy Nickerson	....	stunts
George Sawaya	....	stunts
Rick Sawaya	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Rick Sawaya	....	stunts
Chuck Waters	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Christopher Lynch	....	gaffer
Robert D. McBride	....	assistant camera
Chris Schwiebert	....	camera operator
Calvin Sterry	....	key grip

Casting Department
Stanzi Stokes	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
Stephen Mark	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Meredith Willson	....	composer: song "Till There Was You" from musical "The Music Man"

Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver

Other crew
Richard Correll	....	technical advisor (as Rich Correll)
Dan Perri	....	title designer: main titles
Dan Price	....	film researcher

Thanks
Robert Freeman	....	acknowledgment: still photographs provided by
Dezo Hoffman	....	acknowledgment: still photographs provided by

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1981) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | USA:PG | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The Beatles song that this film is named for is officially "I Want To Hold Your Hand". However, because of the way the song is sung, the refrain is commonly heard as "Wanna", hence the film title.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In his pre-titles address to the CBS pages, Will Jordan's version of Ed Sullivan says that he and his wife Sylvia had seen The Beatles perform in England the previous year. In fact, the real-life Sullivan had booked The Beatles for his show based on the reaction they drew from fans at London's Heathrow Airport, which delayed the Sullivans' own flight to New York. The first time Sullivan saw The Beatles perform was on a film that had been aired on "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" on December 10, 1963, weeks after the booking had been made.

Quotes:

Rosie Petrofsky:What about the words? Don't you people ever listen to the words?
Tony Smerko:You ever listen to the words to Louie Louie?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

Funny film!

I remember seeing this film at three-thirty in the morning when I couldn't sleep and I was in the sixth grade. It was really funny and kept me awake until about five fifteen in the morning...and I had school to go to! Needless to say I never went back to sleep, and at school all I could talk about was this film. The film, directed by Robert Zemekis and produced by Steven Spielberg, is about the pandemonium that ensued when the Beatles came to America to play for Ed Sullivan. Naturally, this film being about teenagers, it appealed to a younger crowd, but an older one at this day and age, as it was the older crowd who were alive and witnessed this chaos. Nancy Allen and Theresa Saldana are great(what ever happened to her?) Wendie Jo Sperber as usual does a fine comedic performance, while Mark McClure and Eddie Deezen have funny little side roles. Written by Bob Gale and Zemeckis, this one is sure to be a laugh riot, almost as laugh out loud as 1941, but with more real life issues and realistic tones. A Funny Film!